A Kind Of Magic
by NERD1144
Summary: Elizabeth was the new girl. She knew nobody but what if one plane crash brought her the best friends she'll ever have? And even her true love? JXOC. Read and Review!
1. The Arrival

**Declaimer: I don't own Flight 29 Down or any of the characters except the OC of course.**

**A/N: I am a Jackson/Mel fan but I wanted something a little different so I added another victim to the crash.**

**Anyway, please review (good or bad) and here's the story:**

The Arrival:

Thirty minutes into the flight and I'm already bored. If my stupid step-mom didn't convince my father that this trip was a great way for me to 'make new

friends' than I wouldn't be on the plane 29 DWN to a camping trip in Micronesia. Don't get me wrong I love to travel and camping seems amazingly cool but I

arrived at Hartwell 2 weeks ago from Toronto in Canada and I haven't made any friends yet so my step-mom decided that I wanted to go on this trip and

signed me up. Anyway, back to the plane. I sat all the way in the back and this gave me a view of everyone in front of me. At the front seats were Eric

McGorrill and Taylor Hagan they were both popular, Eric because he was a bully and Taylor because she was blonde, beautiful and as smart as a potato.

Next in line were Nathan McHugh and Melissa Wu they were best friends, all I know about them is that Melissa is a nice person and Nathan was runner up

for Class President. Ian, Jory, and Abby are quiet people, they are usually always together. Daley Marin sat beside Abby, Daley was the class president and

rumours were that she was stubborn as a rock. The only people who were a new face or uknown to her were the two people she was sitting next to. **[A/N: **

**just pretend there were 3 seats in the back of the plane.** To my left was a small boy probably around the age of nine or ten with black hair and an

adorable face, he was reading a book on wild animals. To my right was a boy who looked about my age with short blonde hair and an expressionless face, he

was listing to music through his headphones and leaning against the window. As the plane ride went on , the little boy looked up from his book and asked me

my name.

"Elizabeth.What's yours?"

"Lex."

"This may sound rude and I really don't mean to be but aren't you like 10 years old?"

To my surprise, Lex laughed.

"Yeah I'm ten."

"So are you like one of those genius kids or something?"

"A little of both, actually."

Apparantly my confused look it readable because he explained.

"I skipped a few grades but I'm on this trip because my step-sister Daley is too."

So while the plane flew through the air and the group of teens fooled around up front, I chatted with Lex...until the plane started to shake. People screamed

and it felt like we were going down so I told Lex to stay calm and put on his seatbelt and I did the same. But after the plane tipped a little to the right my

tranquility shot out the window and without realizing I started to cry. Now another thing I didn't realize was that the whole time we were descending rapidly, I

was holding on to the blonde boy's hand. After the second scariest moment of my life I looked up at the boy and our hands joined together and blushed.

Quickly I let go of his hand and softly apoligized but before he could say anything I turned to see if Lex was alright.

**A/N: So that's the first chapter. If you like it then please review and if you didn't well then tell me why. Your thoughts mean something.**


	2. The Arrival Cont'd

The Arrival Part 2: 

"Mayday, Mayday!" The pilot was frantically screaming into the radio. The plane may have been on solid ground but I was still shaking. Lex was with his sister, Daley, so I tried to keep myself calm but even through all the fear, I felt one more emotion. Relief. Relieved that I was still alive, that everyone on the plane was alive. And with that thought came a lone tear down my cheek. I'm guessing the boy beside me saw it because he asked if I was alright.

I looked at him and smiled. "Yea, considering we almost died, I'm fantastic." He chuckled and helped me out of my seat. Nathan and Daley took turns trying to get information out of the pilot. No such luck. One by one we exited the plane onto a beautiful beach shore.

Once outside, Melissa asked the question we were all thinking. "Where are we?" No one answered unless you call Eric and Taylor saying that we should "enjoy it" and take a swim and that "we're not gunna be here long". They are really clueless. And with that they giggled, running into the water. Melissa and Nathan said they were gunna look around as Lex came out of the plane with Daley, saying, "Hey, you know what I think--". And being cut off.

As everyone looked around the island, I went up to Lex. "What did you wanna say Lex?" I listened as he said we should move the plane in case the tide comes in. "Maybe we should get some proof first?" I suggested with a shrug. I told him I was going to go see how bad the plane was and I left. While walking I noticed the blond boy walking into the jungle, I'm guessing for some privacy, but behind him were two girls and a tall boy and when he noticed them following him, he turned and glared. The trio backed off, and I don't blame them, he did look a litlle intimidating. With a laugh, I turned and spotted the right wing of the plane. Smoke was filtering out, and it looked like lightning busted off half of it. Hopefully resue will come soon.

Daley hollered for everyone to get back up to the plane so we did. She was telling us to wear sunscreen and wear hats, blah, blah, blah, all I was worried about was that none of my stuff got destroyed or taken or whatever. I noticed Lex trying to tell Daley about the tide but he was cut off, again. I could help him but I just as invisible as Lex. As Daley was handing out hats, I finally learned the blonde boy's name. It was Jackson. It was a strong name, a cool name, and it fit him just perfect. I don't know what it was about him but I felt the need to get close to him. But that'll never happen for so many reasons.

Captain Russell or Captain Chaos, as I heard Nathan call him was pacing in front of us, back and forth. "Look, um, I aint no camp counciller--" As Taylor walked by, she responded with, "You're not much of a pilot either." Ha! Wow maybe there was some brains in that head. The pilot's lame response was, "Hey, I saved us." What? We're on a freaking island and he 'saved us'? "Yeah, you got the landing part done right, I think your flying needs a little work." Eric shot at him. Melissa asked again, "Where are we?" And our genius pilot answered with, "I don't know."

I shook my head with disappointment as everyone else started yelling and asking questions like "what" and "what kind of pilot are you". He tried to defend himself and mentioned something about a radio not working but the one thing that perked my ears up was Melissa saying, "We're real lost." Like we weren't gunna be found or something. _'Okay,_ _Okay Liz, don't freak out. Breathe, in and out.'_ The pilot said he was going inland to look for civilization but Nathan thinks we should stay together...but Daley thinks he should go.

Sitting on the beach, I watched as Lex walked along the shore but ran when the waves came in. Looking from the waves to the place where the others were and then to me, he walked towards me. He didn't say anything just sat beside me, staring out into the ocean. When we walked back we saw the group of four leaving into the jungle. Nathan and Daley were arguing and Lex tried to tell them something but as usual they ignored him. Seeing him walk away, I ran after him. He was fast for a little kid. I saw him go up to Jackson, who was drumming along to his music, and try to talk to him but giving up once he didn't respond. Seeing Lex continue on, I ran after him, past Jackson, not noticing that he turned around to look at us.

"Lex!" I panted. "Lex, please stop...or just slow down a bit!" I tried pleading. Man that kid can run. Luckily he slowed down to a walk and I caught up with him. "Hey, little man, I know I can be annoying sometimes but you ran like you had a reaper on your tail." He looked at me with his eyebrows raised then let out the cutest laugh ever. Hearing him laugh like this for the first time I started to giggle too. "So, why'd you run?" I ask quietly. Lex sighed and leaned against a tall tree. "I don't know. After Daley ignored me, then Nathan, and then I even tried to ask Jackson but that was a total waste because no one listens to a ten year old kid!" He ended his rant, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Look, I may not understand half of what you say but I'm always here to listen and sometimes I can even give advice." I suggest to him. "Thanks, Elizabeth." "Call me Liz, okay? My step-mom and my dad only call me Elizabeth and you don't remind me of them...thank God." I laugh and so does Lex. "Come on Lex, let's go figure out a way to prove what you've been trying to tell everyone and then...I will try my hardest to get them to listen." He nodded his head and thanked me again. He's such a sweet kid.

I tried to help Lex to put sticks in the sand to determine wether the tide was in fact moving in and the plane would get washed away. And as we watched the waves come crashing in, they hit the stick straight to the ground. In surprise, Lex and I jumped up and ran to the others. Unfortunately, they were in full-arguing mode and so as promised, I stepped in to try and get them to listen and Lex even came in the conversation, standing beside me. The yelling and arguing stopped, however, when Jackson speared a stick into the ground in the center of us all.

Everyone stopped talking and looked at Jackson. "Lex has something to say." He walked up behind Lex and put his hands on his shoulders. I looked at him admiringly but snapped out of it when his gaze landed on me. Eric decided to make a stupid remark. "Woah, he just spoke!" Everyone ignored that and looked at Lex. So Lex started to tell them about the tide and how the plane, with all our clothes and supplies would get washed away if we don't move it.

The girls had to empty the plane and the boys had to figure out a way to move the plane. So far, it's going pretty good. We emptied pretty much everything without Taylor's help of course and the guys got some vines and rope and chains to pull the plane. Now the only problem is actually moving it.

Everyone grabbed hold of a rope, except Lex because even he knew he couldn't pull it, and we tried to pull it. Lex said to wait for the tide and when everyone started to question him, I got frustrated and annoyed so I screamed, "Will you all shut up and listen to him?" We successfully heaved the plane further up the beach and with yells of joy and happiness everyone hugged eachother. Well I only hugged Lex but for a moment I looked up into Jackson's gaze and smiled appreciatively. Thankfully, he smiled back.

We were all lounging around when the pilot and the others returned saying, "Get nice and comfy kids, 'cause there aint no resort in that jungle."


	3. End Of Day One

It has only been a few hours since we crashed and already I'm feeling like we're the cast of Gilligan's island. Nathan and Daley are fighting about who should be leader and it's getting dark soon. Yay.

Nathan says we should get a signal fire started but Daley says we should make camp first. I vote we get off this bloddy island! But since there is no way of doing _that_, I said I'd help get firewood and to my delight Jackson said he'd help. YAY!!

So we were walking around in the jungle, quietly. It was very unnerving because I hate quiet, I like to talk and be loud and exciting but around Jackson, I shut up like a clam.

"So…" He looked up at me, as if waiting for me to finish my sentence. Problem was…I have no idea what to say! I started to pick up dry branches and try to talk but all that came out was this:

"Uh…who are…what, what made you come on this trip?" I stumbled over my words which made me blush heavily. At first he stared at me with a look of amusement and confusion, whatever _that_ looks like, but then he answered my question.

"Um, Melissa offered me the free trip…so I came." I nodded my head until realization hit.

"Oh, so you're the one that we went through all that trouble to get on the trip."

I could see him turn a little red and felt bad._ 'Damage Control!'_

I dropped the armful of wood and walked up to him.

"Oh no, I didn't mean it the way I said it, sorry. I just meant that you were the student that Melissa and I worked hard to get everyone's vote, so you could come. That's all. Sorry if my mouth moves before my brain, that happens sometimes."

Oh God! I just kept on rambling until my brain said 'Shut up!' So I did. I knew I was blushing because I felt like I was in a sauna.

Jackson just stared at me with those gray-blue eyes and planted a smirk on his mouth.

"Don't worry about it. Oh and thanks for, you know, working so hard."

"Bet you're glad you came on this trip now, eh?"

He quirked a small grin and nodded. "Yeah, actually, I am. I have no regrets."

Understanding what he meant, I bent down to pick up the stack of firewood I dropped. He helped me and together we stood up straight, both of us with the wood we gathered.

"Were you new to Hartwell because I don't know your name and I feel really bad about that." I laughed.

"Oh, don't feel bad, I'm actually used to people not knowing my name. And to answer your question, yes, I'm new I just cam to LA two weeks ago."

"Do you mind if I ask why?" He asked cautiously.

"Not really. I moved to my dad's home in LA because my mom past away."

I saw his eyes almost bulge out of his head. And I knew the apology would be next.

"Oh. If it helps you at all, though it probably won't, I know what you're going through."

Surprised at his response, I smiled. "It helps a lot."

People around school said he was quiet but he hasn't been with me. Which made me feel…I don't know, special. He spoke up again.

"I still didn't get your name." He laughed after and so did I.

"It's Elizabeth." I say smiling like an old fool. He grinned right back at me.

"Well Elizabeth, we should get these back to the beach." He gestured to the wood. Well he gestured as well as anyone could with a barrell full in their arms. Anyway, back on track. As we walked back to where the others were, I remembered his earlier actions.

"Hey Jackson?"

"Yea?"

"I wanted to thank you for earlier today."

"Thank me for what?" I was going to tell him about what happened on the plane but I chickened out so instead I said,

"For, you know, helping Lex get everyone's attention. I know Lex probably thanked you already but I wanted to also."

"No problem. Lex needed help, and it looked like you needed some too—" He glanced sideways at me and I raised my eyes to his. "—So I helped."  
I grinned happily. "Well, I'm glad you did or else that plane would've been gone."

We were approaching the beach area when we heard arguing.

"It sounds like Nathan." I tell him. We dropped the wood off and went to investigate what was going on.

"…look tell everyone else you're sorry when we're freezing tonight. I thought you were the one person that we could all count on and then—"

"Leave her alone, Nathan!" I only heard the last part but I had heard enough. Nathan turned to look at me and I continued.

"She probably didn't mean to do whatever it was she did. So quit yelling at her and go try to start the fire!" I was panting in the end but I felt good after that. Nathan left the beach and the only people left were me, Jackson, and Melissa and she looked about ready to cry.

I walked over to her and asked if she was alright. She only nodded her head. "What happened, Melissa? You and Nathan are supposed to be best friends, why'd he yell at you like that for?" She turned to me and told me about the matches and Eric's tauntings and finally when she went in the water and damaged the matches. I didn't know what else to say besides "You didn't do anything wrong." And "Everybody makes mistakes." Other than that I wasn't very helpful. Melissa sniffled and said she'd be alright. She smiled at Jackson and me but before she walked back she turned to Jackson and asked, "Would you help him? With the fire, I mean. Please" Her eyes pleaded for him to say yes. He stared at her and I guess she thought that was a no, so she left.

"Are you going to help Nathan?" I needed to know.

"I don't have a choice do I?"

"Everyone has a choice, Jackson. It's just whatever choice you make, defines who you are."

He nodded his head and followed Melissa. I stood there wondering, _was that a yes or a no?_

"Elizabeth, you coming or what?"

"Yea, yea keep your pants on."

We found Melissa and went up to Nathan, who was trying to start the fire.

"We wanna help." Melissa stated.

Nathan seemed to think it over and agreed because he told Jackson to continue what he started. I noticed Jackson trying to tell him something but I had no idea what.

Running up towards us was Daley and Lex. "Do you have fire yet?" Next thing I know I'm being shown her leg, full of nasty leaches.

"We need a hot, burning stick to burn them off." Lex said.

Nathan kept insisting that if Jackson continued, it would spark. Hour later, no spark.

We sat in a circle around the not-so-flaming fire.

"Gross, they're getting fat with _my_ blood." Daley complained.

"That's a good thing once they're filled up, they'll fall off." Lex smartly replied.

Taylor's only response was "Ew!" The worst part was when Melissa blamed herself for it. Nathan assured her though and that was something good. I looked at Jackson and he showed me something from his pocket. I nudged him to show everyone and he got up.

He said to Nathan, "Are you ready to listen to someone else now?" Nathan nodded and Jackson reached into his pocket and pulled out his lighter. Everyone gasped and awed at the lighter. Reaching over to the wood and timber, I watched as he set the wood aflame.

He walked around the group and said, "Hey dude, take a look around man, we're all stuck at the same party." And he turned and left.

As nightime was rearing it's ugly head, everyone had to layer up their clothes because eof the cold. Lex was "de-leaching" Daley while everyone helped to set up the tents. Boys in one, Girls on the other. Unless they want something freaky to go on, that's for outside. I'm kidding…I think. Anyway, whether we like it or not, we're spending the night on this damn island.

We survived DAY ONE.


	4. Election Time!

**A/N: Thanks for reviewing all...3 of you. Please do so again!**

* * *

Day 2 morning to Day 2 midday:

In my sleeping bag, I lay there listening to Daley try and scare Taylor. I hate thunderstorms. Two weeks ago I would be curling up on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate and sitting with my mom. But that was then and now I can't do anything but listen to the rain and Daley complain about Nathan's incompetence.

When the girls screamed, I sat up and glared at them. "Dude, seriously?"

They looked at me like I was crazy, then turned back to Daley when she said,  
"Don't show weakness! Or Nathan and the guys will walk all over us." I laughed and shook my head and tried to get some sleep but Daley decided to say her 'Nathan's a power-hungry maniac' speech now, so sleep was minimal.

I saw light creeping into the tent so I decide to get up because I couldn't stand one more minute inside here. Stretching my muscles out I walked along the beach. Even though I hate that we're stuck here, it is beautiful.

The sunrise reflecting on the ocean's waves made me relax and just breathe. Slowly, everyone started to get up and Nathan and Daley started to fight. Fortunately, Jackson broke it up.  
"Guys, enough!"

Taylor walked by. "Seriously, wah, wah, wah!"

"You guys sound like my parents." Was what Eric said. The two fighters turned to me and Mel. "You two got something to say too?" We shook our heads and stepped back a little.

"I'm just trying to do what's best." Daley said.  
"Oh, like you know." Nathan retorted.  
"Better than you!" Daley screeched.  
I had a headache from lack of sleep and they weren't making it any better. "Just stop!! What is the problem?" I yell.

Nathan and Daley stare at me and Daley says, "I think we need a leader."

And away they go! They continued to fight on why they think they would be a better leader while everyone else stood by watching. They came up with some stupid campaign idea. So that means that we all have to vote for who we think should be our leader.

After we ate our little breakfast, I was walking around not really knowing what to do. I walk around a tree only to hear Melissa scream,

"Maybe you shouldn't go alone!"

"Hey Mel."

"Oh, hey Liz." After that whole matches fiasco yesterday, Mel and I got to talking and I found out she's pretty cool. She likes to keep the peace, like me.

"What's the matter?" I ask her.  
"Nathan. He's all for delegation but whenever I ask if he needs help, he's always like 'no I'll do it.' Ugh! I don't know what to do."

"About the election you mean?"

"Yeah." I give her a smile and say, "Don't sweat it! Just vote for the one you believe would be the best person for the job."

"Thanks, Liz." "

No problem. Alright I got to search for some firewood, again. Talk to you later." And with that I set off into the jungle coming back hours later to the fire pit with bundles of wood. After that I just sat on the ground, picking at the dirt with a stick, thinking.  
"Kay, this won't burn." I spin around to see Jackson holding up the firewood.

I think for a moment. "Maybe we should dry it in the sun?" I quietly suggest. He nods his head.

"Smart. We'll dry it in the sun." I smile at him and turn back around, still thinking about the election. I don't really think Nathan or Daley should be leader but who else is there? Maybe Jackson could help me. I help him pick up the wood and ask him, "So, who are you gunna vote for?"

He sighs and looks at me. "Nobody."

I tilt my head to the side. "Don't you think we need a leader?"

"Yea, I mean sure, somebody, you know, I believe in but I'm not there yet. Not yet." And with that he stood up straight and walked to the beach.

That helped a lot.

* * *

Lex was opening up boxes when I came up to him. "Excellent!" He cheered.

"What is it?" But my voice was mixed with Daley's.  
Lex started to say, "It's--"

"If it's not food, I'm not interested." And she walked away.  
I kneel down. "Ouch. What's got her all bugged out?" Lex just gives me this 'are you serious?' look and I understand quickly.

"Ah...the election. Yea, that has everyone all high-strung." I sigh. "So what were you so excited about before?"

Lex smiled and showed me the solar panels in the box.

"No way!! We can charge up the flashlights and batteries!! Lex you are awesome!" I reach over the box and give him a bear hug, almost crushing him.  
'Elizabeth! You're squishing me!"

"Oops! Sorry little buddy." Quickly I backed off of him and stood up. "Alright I got to go, come find me if you need me for anything. You know I'll help you, Bud!"

* * *

Boy was I bored! Sure there was work to be done but what? No one has decided what we should do first. Should we make a distress signal, should we look for food or water, etc. We don't even know if we're going to be rescued. No, not_ if_,when we get rescued. It will happen...I know it will.To cure my boredom, I decide to take a walk into the jungle. Not too far in though, I don't want to get lost. It was really beautiful and I would've kept on walking had I not tripped over something.

I looked to see what I tripped over and it wasn't something...it was someone! It was Nathan!!

I quickly checked to see if he had a pulse and thankfully, he did. So that meant he was unconscious. What the hell happened to him? Alright, Liz, you need some help with this.

As fast as I possibly could I started running back to camp but I ran into Lex and Jackson on the way.

"Oh thank God I found you, guys!" I gasped.  
They looked worried and frantic.

Lex asking first, "Why? What happened?"

"It's Nathan. I found him unconscious and I don't know what to do."

By now I was really close to a panic attack but I thought about Nathan and how he needed my help, so I calmed down.

"Where is he?" Jackson asks.

I just tell them to follow me and I started to run again. It must've been the adrenaline of wanting to help Nathan that got me running so fast because I'm not your regular track star. I hear Lex yell "There he is!" when I finally stopped. Kneeling beside him, I asked Lex what to do.  
"Don't move him, he might be hurt." I nod my head and Jackson does the same.  
"Nathan, hey, Nathan wake up!' I say, slightly shaking him. I saw Jackson go to check his pulse. 'I already checked.' He backed off. 'He's alive."

Nathan stirred and mumbled, "No I'm not." We chuckle as we try to lift him in the sitting position.

"What happened?" Lex questioned. Nathan pointed up to the coconut tree.

"I climbed up the tree to get coconuts." He whispered, sounding dazed. "But, I sorta fell."

Looking up Jackson responded. "You fell, from up there." Nathan just nodded.  
Lex scolded him for doing this task by himself. Nathan made some remark on how far he's willing to go for his guys. I clear my throat.  
'Yeah, hey, girl who found you is right here." I smile. "But no need to thank me or anything." I say jokingly but then i got serious. "Nathan, that was a stupid move going up there." "So where are the coconuts?" Lex asked. His response was a point up to the tree. I just laugh and help him up to his feet.

* * *

Election time! Wahoo!  
I sat on the sand beside Lex and to my surprise and delight, Jackson sat next to me and smiled. Wahoo!

Daley was up first, she was talking about food rationing and water but when the questions were asked she didn't have any answers. Nathan did his speech about how he was in boy scouts and that we should be worried about finding food instead of rationing it. But when asked where the food was he had no answer.

"So basically you're both telling us that you've got all these ideas just no real way of doing them?" I question. Politics always got me angry and today wasn't any different.  
Again no answers. Big shocker there.  
Then Taylor and Melissa got into an argument about something but I have no idea what. Until Lex asked what happened and Mel explained that Taylor ran the battery on the video camera.  
"Wait, we have a video camera?" I ask feeling like an idiot. They continued to fight and I turn to Jackson, looking to him for help and he gets up.  
"Wait. We're fighting about batteries?"

"Well...yeah!" Was Melissa's response. He just nods his head in amusement.  
I turn to Lex, "Wait, don't you have the charger things from this morning?" He nodded his head. But our conversation was interrupted when we heard Taylor say "I've got B.O. baby!" I look up at her and burst out laughing. Then I realized I was the only one. How sad for me. I abruptly stopped laughing and sat up straight whispering a sorry.

Jackson grinned at me and that didn't make me feel _that_ stupid.

"Just talk to Lex." Jackson said.

"Lex?" Daley screeches.

"Yeah, show 'em." They all look at Lex and I nudge him to go ahead and he does. Coming back from inside the plane he describes the solar panel and how it's a battery charger and powered by the sun. Everyone was amazed and happy, thanks to Lex.

But after the excitement, Daley and Nathan started fighting again. Oh man! I watched as Jackson got up and stopped them.

"Guys! We get it! We get it, okay?" And he sat back down. I quietly laugh and he looks at me with his eyebrows raised. I shke my head and pay attention to Melissa.

"Alright, vote for the person who you want to be our leader." Melissa said. "And whoever wins, we got to go with them, that's the deal. No more arguments." "Here! Here!" I cheer raising my arm. Lex just pushes my arm telling me I'm a goof-ball and I got to say that was a first.

Looking at the piece of paper I wrote down the one name I thought would be a good leader, who had the best ideas, the smartest ideas and I chose.

Melissa walked back to the group with the results.

"We have a leader, yet?" I ask.  
"Well sort of." She answered.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, one person voted for no one" Wonder who that was...I glanced at Jackson and he just shrugged his shoulders.  
"One person voted for...Nathan." She said reluctantly. Daley cheered and Nathan was heartbroken. Oh no! That means Daley might be our leader! Oh crap!  
Melissa raised another piece of paper and said, "Hang on! Daley got...one vote and so did Lex." Lex stood up surprised and spun around to look at me. "You?" He asked smiling.  
I shrugged my shoulders and said nothing all the while grinning like an idiot. I told him I'd explain later and he sat back down. "Sorry, go on Mel."

She nodded and continued. "The deal was that we'd accept the vote no matter who won."

Everyone was probably as confused as I was at that moment.

"But...if four people didn't vote--" Nathan stated but Melissa cut him off. "Oh, but they did!" She paused. "Four people voted for the person they most want to be our leader and that person was...Jackson."

* * *

**A/N: gasp Like y'all didn't know that was gunna happen. Anyway please click the beautiful, shiny, purple button that says REVIEW on it and you will make me a very happy girl since right now I ain't so happy. Okie, hope you liked the chapter because it's the longest one.**


	5. Follow Me?

**A/N: ****A thanks goes to**** carterfinely who helped me fix up my writing skills. Hopefully. This chapter is going to have more Jackson/Liz action. (Nothing dirty…unless requested). Here's the chapter.**

* * *

"…Jackson." Daley and Nathan looked mad but Mel, Lex, Eric, and Taylor weren't surprised. 

Guess I know who _they_ voted for. I turned to congratulate Jackson but he didn't look too happy.

Nathan tried to argue about it when…

"You know what," Jackson hopped off the plane. "Save it. I don't want the job." And he stormed off.

I stood up and followed him. "Jackson! Jackson wait up!" He spun around and he did not look like the same Jackson I knew.

"Just leave me alone, Elizabeth!" I flinched at the anger in his voice.

"Why are you so angry about this?"

I didn't get my answer though because he walked away from me and into the jungle.

I strolled up to where the others were and heard about the water shortage. Lex, Nathan, Eric, and Taylor were all screaming questions at Daley.

"Guys stop!" I stood in the centre. "What's going on?" I looked around confused.

"Daley lied about how much water is left and now we found out that there's only enough for three days." Melissa informed me. "And someone stole six bottles."

"Huh. Yeah we're in a pickle here." I chuckle at my own lame ass joke. Nathan didn't think I was that funny.

"You think?! We could die in three days!!"

"Hold on a second! If you would shut up I could tell you my plan. It's simple but not so easy."

I looked around the group for any disagreements, there were none so I continued. "We look for water." I stated and sat on the sand.

"Wait, that's it. Your plan is to just look for water?" Nathan asked incrediously. I nodded my head.

"Yeah, we'll split up into groups of two and search areas in the jungle, but not too far in or we'll get lost. If this is not successful then we get a new plan. Our deadline is three days or…we're the dead one's."

"What are the groups?" Mel asks me. I smile at her affiliation with my plan.

"Um…Daley you go with Eric; Mel, you will be with Lex; Nathan and Taylor; and I'll go and see if Jackson wants to help me…and if not I'll go alone. Everyone ready?"

An agreement went through the small group. "Awesome! Okay we'll meet back here before it gets dark."

* * *

I found Jackson on the beach, sitting in the sand. 

"Hey." He turned to see who it was or to yell again, who knows. I sat down next to him and put my arms around my legs and placed my chin over my knees to look him in the eye.

"How are you feeling?" I ask.

"Like crap."

"Why?"

"Because, I yelled at a friend of mine and all she was trying to do was see if I was okay. But the worst part of it was the look on her face. That look of fear—"

"I wasn't scared, Jackson, I was worried. You've never yelled like that before." I whispered to him.

"I know and I'm sorry." I nodded and gave him a smile.

"Don't worry about," He still looked uncertain. "If you really want to make it up to me, you can come help me look for clean water." He looked confused and I remembered that he knows nothing about the plan. "Oh uh…I sorta came up with this plan to get fresh water because there isn't much left in the cooler. There would've been enough for three days but someone stole six bottles so we might only have enough for today." I said all in one breath.

"Oh shit. Yeah, yeah, let's get going!" We both get and start into the jungle. Hopefully my plan will work.

We have been walking for an hour now and no sign of any water. I glanced at Jackson and he looked tired, though I knew he'd never say it. So I spoke up.

"Can we take a break?"

"Yeah, sure." He responded. I rested my back against a tree as I sat on the ground. Squinting up at him a question kept floating in my head.

"Why don't you want to be the leader?" I blurted out. He sat beside me and stayed quiet.

"You'd be great at it Jackson! You don't get caught up in all the drama, you're solid. If there's anything we need right now, it's solid." I looked at him with a smirk. "Even though I didn't vote for you, I still think you're the best person for the job. Like you said, pick someone you believe in and I believe in and trust you Jackson."

He seemed shocked at that but I brushed it off as he stood up.

"I'm not the guy. End of story." He stretched his hand out to me. "Come on we gotta keep looking, it's gunna be dark in a few hours." I grabbed hold of his hand and he pulled me up. "Thanks." And we continued walking.

* * *

"It's kinda sad." I said to Jackson. 

"What is?"

"The fact that it took a plane crash for me to actually make friends." I giggled and then my giggles turned into full blown laughter to the point where I couldn't breathe. I was leaning against a tree, trying to catch my breath when I saw Jackson looking at me.

"What?"

He smiled and said, "I like it when you laugh."

I looked down at my feet and felt my face heat up. I mumbled, "We should keep moving," and then started walking ahead of him. He jogged up to my side and started walking in rythm with my steps.

"You really want to know why I don't wanna be leader?"

"Yeah, but only if you want to tell me. I won't be mad or anything if you don't."

"Yeah, I know but I want you to know."

I smiled at that, he's so cute sometimes. _'Liz, focus!'_

"I just…want you to understand." He was looking ahead while he was talking. "It's like, something happens to people when they get a little bit of power, you know, they think it's okay for them to mess with you, so they do."

I tilt my head to the side. "Sounds like you've had some experience in this department?"

"Yeah, yeah. From both sides. It's like, I appreciate what you said, I really do but it's not me. I don't want any part of it so…just let it go alright?"

I nod my head but I still stand my ground. Walking in front of him I turn and say,

"You've gotta understand something too, because you don't want power over people, is exactly why you're perfect for the job." And I walked further ahead.

* * *

We returned back to camp, without any water, to see Daley and Eric spraying bottles of water at Nathan and Taylor while laughing their heads off. Running up to them I ask what is going on. 

"There's an underground spring in the jungle!" Daley screamed happily.

"Are you shitting me? We have water?!" I grinned and gave her the biggest hug ever which she thankfully returned. When we pulled apart, Eric said jokingly, "I helped find the water too, don't I deserve a hug?"

I laughed and looked at him. "Come here." And I embraced him too.

In all this excitement I never found out who stole the water but who cares? We have a life-long supply of water…but hopefully we won't need it for that long.

* * *

Finally we have water! The group was sitting around drinking the now filtered and boiled water. 

"Eww! It's warm." Taylor complained.

"We had to boil it to make sure it's safe." Mel responded.

"And filter it." Lex added.

"And we couldn't find an ice machine." Daley also added which made everyone laugh. Even Jackson, who looked like he was deep in thought.

"A toast," I suggested. "to Daley and Eric, there's no other way to put this, they saved our lives."

"I'll drink to that. "Eric said and we downed the water. But I didn't leave it at that, oh no.

"And to me, because without my _wonderful_ plan," I boasted jokingly, glancing at them all. "you never would have found the stream." I ended it with a giggle which everyone joined in.

"Hey, did we ever find out who took the water?" Lex asked.

"Uh, yeah, my bad I misplaced them, sorry." Daley said.

The inevitable question was asked, "So, does that mean we have another vote to see who's leader?"

No one said anything except for Jackson, who stood up,

"I…uh…have something to say." I looked at him, wondering what he was going to do.

"After talking with Elizabeth, I've decided that…I'm going to give this a shot." A smile slowly crept on my face at the thought that what I said made a difference in his decision.

"Alright chief, you're on." Eric said. "How's this gunna work?"

"Staying alive is obviously going to take a lot of work," I looked up at him. "And I think that we should all do what we know best." He looked a little nervous when he was fiddling with the paper in his hands but he didn't falter.

* * *

Daley was in charge of rationing the food and water and scheduling the meals. 

Nathan was in charge of organizing a search for food and to find ways of using the island's resources.

Mel was in charge of the fire, making sure it's always flaming and that no one got in her way.

Eric, poor boy, has to lug water from the stream to the fire pit.

Taylor was give the chore of charging the batteries and what not, Jackson gave her something easy so she wouldn't complain and nothing gets destroyed, very smart idea.

Lex's job was to be his smart, charming self. He was to think of ways to help us get by on the island, like fixing the radio to play Jackson's ipod through the speakers. Smart kid.

My job was to filter and boil the water, first and foremost, but also to help anyone who needs it. I think that's awesome since it's my expertise.

* * *

**My Video Diary:**

"**So, everyone said they were making these things so I thought I'd give it a try. In the two days we've been here, I've made friends everyone. Daley, Nathan, Taylor and Eric are people I talk to and joke with but Lex is my best friend on the island and I tell him everything, Melissa and I share the need to help people and keep the peace but…there's something about Jackson that pulls me to him, you know? Of course you don't you're a camera! But that's not the point. The point is that I think I'm falling for Jackson and I know it now because when he was standing in front of us today, saying he wanted to be the leader, I knew that even if we were stuck here for awhile, we'd be okay because Jackson would be there."**

* * *

**A/N: Hope you liked this chapter because I loved writing it. Review please. Next chapter will be up soon.**


	6. Fishing Woes

**A/N: Sorry I haven't been writing much but I've been piled w/ hmwrk nd such but I'm gunna try to continue at a faster pace oh and I kind of forgot to do those disclaimer things so I got to do that now.  
I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH FLIGHT 29 DOWN, THE ONLY THING THAT BELONGS TO ME IS THE CHARACTER ELIZABETH. KAY?  
**

**Now on with the story.  
**

Day 3-Morning  
It's been two days and still no search planes and everyone was getting restless. It was dinner time and Nathan was trying to reassure everyone but it wasn't working.  
"Nathan, I'm usually an optimistic person but I don't see a bright side of being stuck here." I said. "I just want to go home."  
"They'll find us…eventually." He said. I couldn't sit there any longer.  
"I'm going for a walk." I said to the group and walked away. In the distance I hear Daley say "dinner time!" and a mention of Mac n' cheese.

* * *

This wasn't supposed to happen! And I'm not just talking about the trip's disastrous turn but my life in general. Just last month I was wishing that something big could happen that would change my life.  
Be careful what you wish for right?

My wish came true because now I've got no mom, an evil step monster, a dad who doesn't give a rat's ass if I'm dead or alive, and I'm stuck on an island with minimal food and 7 other kids. Whoever said change was good needs a punch in head…repeatedly.

I plopped myself on a rock and leaned against a tree and before I knew it, I started crying. Oh man, my life really has turned into pile of crap lately.

"Well I wouldn't say that." I spun around to see Lex standing there with two cups in his hand. I must of said that last bit out loud. Oops!

"Yeah, well I would." I said, sniffling. I wiped my eyes as Lex came and sat next to me.

"I brought you some Mac and cheese." I smile.

"Thanks, I'm starved." I grabbed the cup hungrily and finished it a few minutes later. "Aw…all done. How sad." I pouted. Lex smiled at me and asked if I was okay. "Yeah, I'll get over it eventually." I reply jokingly.

"I meant about before, when you were crying, is everything okay?" Lex said seriously.

I shake my head. "No, everything sucks. I mean did you think the trip would ever turn out like this, Lex?""Of course not, I wasn't even supposed to be on the trip but since Daley was class president she said I could go." I chuckled.

"Is the trip everything you dreamed it would be?" I looked sideways at him, waiting for an answer.

"And more." He replied smiling. I ruffled his hair and leaned back again. We sat there talking about nothing and everything, just telling each other random things that happened in our lives until we decided to head back to camp.

The others were arguing about food and how much we don't have, boy was this argument getting old.  
"Alright, we have two choices we either look for food or we starve." I see Jackson standing on the plane. "Tomorrow we hunt." And he jumped off.

* * *

I was standing at the shore watching Jackson try to catch fish by harpooning them …it wasn't going so well. He missed once again and I giggled. I'm guessing he heard because he said:  
"You think this is funny?"

I nodded. "A little bit, yes." He just turned away from me and tried again. "Jackson, you're making a fool of yourself and that is no way to catch a fish!"

"I don't care what I look like and how do you know it won't work?" He retorted.  
I stayed silent because I really didn't know. "Fine, spear your foot, I don't care." I walked away and went to go sit beside Taylor, who was doing nothing. Surprise! Surprise!

"Hey Taylor."  
"Hi."  
"Aren't you supposed to be working?"  
"I am." Was her answer.  
"Ah yes…how could I have been so blind?" I sarcastically reply.  
"It's alright, everyone makes mistakes." I looked at her dumbfounded, is she serious?  
"No Taylor I meant--never mind, I'm not even going to try." I shake my head and get up. "I'm going to get some water. Be back in a bit."  
I take one more look over at Jackson's fishing attempts and walk away laughing.

* * *

On my way back to camp, I see Jackson lay down on his towel. Dropping the water jugs at the fire pit, I sit next to him.

"Taking a break?" I inquire. He just nods his head, his attention focused on a plastic container in his hand. "Aren't you worried that all the fish will have figured out your master plan and swim away?" I teased but still no verbal answer. I punch him in the shoulder and he quickly looks up. I smile at him. "Hey, remember me, the girl you love and adore because she's just so funny and talented…" I supply jokingly. No response. "You're not still mad about me laughing at you this morning are you? I mean it was just a joke and I just wanted to make you laugh because you seemed so stressed and -- "  
"ELIZABETH!" I stopped talking and looked at him. "I'm not mad at you, I'm just thinking…"

I tilt my head. "About what?" I stopped myself. "Or is it none of my business?" I say cautiously.

"I got this note and some hooks and I'm trying to think of who it could be from." He passed me the note which read:

"**Lose the spear.  
**

**-A Friend"  
**

"Huh. Well it wasn't me and I'm your only friend here so..." He nudged me and laughed. "Yay! I got you to laugh! I am a genius." I stated happily.

He looked at me and jumped up to his feet. "Come on!" I raced after him and watched him pull out the wire attaching the speakers to the Ipod. He looked so determined that he ignored Taylor's "Hey!" of disapproval.

"Jackson, I'll be back I got to go and filter the water Eric is bringing back!" I got a dismissing wave and left.

"Ow! Ow! My foot!" I heard someone say near the fire pit. I ran towards the noise and saw Eric holding his foot and Melissa asking if he was okay.  
"Is everything alright?" I asked worried. Mel told me that Eric might have sprained his ankle and he said he stepped on a prick. Eric answered me.

"Yeah, I'm fine but I think I hurt my ankle real bad."

I was a little skeptical with the situation but I guess he really was in pain.

"Well stay off that leg." I stood up. "Mel could you help with Eric's part of the water? I'd do it myself but it kind of gets tiring after a few hours."

She nodded and said. "Yeah, of course, we're a group, we've got to help each other out."

I grabbed the empty jugs and turned to Eric, "I know you can't stand up but at least boil the water okay?" I looked at him for an answer. He agreed and I left with Melissa.

* * *

We arrived at the fire pit, to find Eric asleep. I looked at Melissa, "Could you wake him up? I got to go check on Jackson and his fish hunt." She laughed and said yes so I walked towards the shore where Jackson was trying to fish using his hand-made fishing rod.  
Try after try after try, he didn't get anything and than got so frustrated that he turned around towards me and threw the rod straight over my head.  
I screamed and fell to the floor to avoid getting a nice bump on the head.

"Are you trying to kill me?" I yelped.

He sat next to me on the beach and apologized. "It's alright, but next time you want to take out your frustrations, make sure I'm ten feet away." I look sideways at him as he laughed. "Are you okay?" I ask gently.

"Yeah, it's just so frustrating. What happens if I can't catch the fish, then we'll have no food and that is definitely not good–" I cut him off.

"JACKSON!" He stopped and looked at me. "You're babbling. Maybe you've been hanging out with me too much, I don't know, but what I do know is that the others are looking for food so even if you don't catch anything, we'll be okay." I put my hand on his shoulder and he placed his chin on it and stared at me. "What?" I was getting a little nervous at his unwavering gaze. "Do I have something on my face?" I joked but he just said quietly, "You're a good friend, Liz." I turned to him, confusion etched my face.

"What did you say?" I didn't hear him very well. He lifted his head up and turned to me.

"I said that you are a good friend. To me, to Lex, to Mel, to everybody, including Taylor." He smiled. As confused as I was, I still blushed.

"What does this have to do with fishing?" I said, changing the subject. I looked down because his stare was making me nervous again.

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Change the subject whenever someone compliments you."

I forced my sight downward, avoiding eye contact and Jackson's question. I need to think of something to talk about other than me...GOT IT!

"Did you try using bait to catch the fish?" I asked. It looked like he was going to continue pestering me but I guess he decided not to.

"Bait?" He said questioningly. "Bait...why didn't I think of that?" I decided to keep my comments to a minimum because it seemed as though Jackson's fishing techniques were a touchy subject.

"Why don't you go and get some bait while I go and see if Mel needs help with the water?"

He nodded and walked away but before I could, I heard Jackson yell out, "You know we're not done our conversation, you still have to answer my question."

I smirked at him. "How about a deal?" He nodded his head with a victorious grin on his face. "Alright, as soon as you catch a fish, I'll give you an answer." His smile quickly fell and I turned around and walked back to camp.

* * *

While passing through the path to and from the spring, I would bump into Lex occasionally from where he was searching for food. But as I was waking back to the camp to drop off my recent water pick up, I noticed he wasn't there.

At the campfire where Eric was supposed to be working, I dropped off the water, told Eric to do some work and headed toward the tent to rest for little while. As I was passing the boy's tent, I saw Lex and Jackson talking and kind of, sort of, accidently overheard their conversation.

Okay so I listened on purpose! Sue me!

Lex looked up at Jackson, "Hey, how's the fishing?" Ooh...not the best question to ask him, unless the bait worked. I saw Jackson ignore Lex's question and go inside the tent.

"Hey little buddy." I said calling Lex over to me.

"Hi Liz, what are you doing?" He asked.

"I was going to look for you and then relax in the tent but it seems as though a little pep talk is in order..." I said glancing over at the tent. Lex grinned at me and started singing,

"Liz and Jackson sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G --" I quickly covered his mouth with my hand.

"Lex! Shut up!" I looked back at the tent, hoping Jackson smirking face wouldn't pop out of the opening. It didn't and I turned back to Lex.

"Why don't you go help your sister, buddy." I nodded my head to show him what his answer should be. "And I'll deal with you later." I glared at him.

"Ooh, I'm so scared." He sarcastically replied, walking away.

"Little punk." I whisper jokingly to myself.

I slipped my head into the tent and asked for admittance inside. Jackson said yes and I sat comfortably across from him.

"So...how did it go?" He just gave me this look that said _'How do you think it went?'_ and looked back down. "That bad, eh?" He nodded and laid back on his sleeping bag but was stopped by another plastic box with his name written on the top.

He opened it quickly and read the note aloud:

"**Forget the sandy beach.**

**Fish like rocks and tide pools. **

-A Friend** "**

"Huh?" I asked. "What's with the riddles, can't people speak English anymore?" He laughed and said, "I think I know what to do..." trailing of at the end. He stood up and stretched an arm out to me.

"You coming?" I smiled and grabbed hold on his hand and stood up also.

We carried his fishing "tools" to the shore where the rocks and tide pools are, just like the note said. And also just like the notes said, Jackson used leaves as bait for the fish. From the shore I watched as he tried once again. Sitting on the beach, we waited for a bite or a nibble or something! Time seemed to pass by as we waited and we started to play twenty questions. I started first.

"Where were you born?"

"L.A." He answered and then waited for me to reply to the question too.

"Toronto."

"No way?" I nodded my head and smiled. "Your turn, Jacks."

"Alright, what is your favourite past time?"

"Reading novels or writing poems. You?"

"Listening to music or playing my guitar."

"That's so cool, I love guitars." I say excitedly.

"You play?"

"Oh hell no, but I love the sound of the acoustic..." I said dazed, remembering when my friends and I would sit in the yard, singing along to the music of the guitar.

"Liz? You still here?"

"Huh?" I shake my head, ridding myself of what was my life. "Oh yeah I'm fine...next question."

And it went on like that for a couple of hours until I told Jackson I had to help Melissa, and left.

* * *

When I got back to camp I sat next Mel who was in complete agony.

"You okay, Mel?"

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about me." She said trying to brush off my worry. Didn't work.

"Why don't you go rest in the tents and I'll take over yours and Eric's shifts, okay?" I didn't even wait for her agreement. "Good answer, now get your tired butt into the tent." I helped her up and led her inside to rest. I walked back to where Eric was "working" and picked up two empty jugs of water.

"When I come back Eric I expect some water to be filtered and boiled and put into the water bottles, got it?" I raised an eyebrow at him. He quickly nodded and I left. It was so not getting done.

On the route back I ran into Jackson.

"Hey did you catch anything?"

No answer.

"Okay...want to help me carry these back to camp?"

No answer.

"Jackson? Are you okay?"

He nodded and looked at me and then at the heavy water jugs in my hands.

"Give me those." I handed him one and gave him my gratitude.

"Do you want to see if your 'friend' wrote you another note?" I suggested and he nodded again.

When we went into the tent we spotted the plastic box and Jackson quickly opened it and passed me the contents inside.

"I think they're part of an earring..." I said gazing at the shiny material. "Read the note, Jacks."

He picked it up and read aloud:

"**Fish like shiny things, use all the hooks **

**and something to weigh it all down.**

**Stay low, they can see you.**

**-A Friend"**

"Let me see the stuff that was inside." He said and I passed over the earrings.

"I think it's to attract them to you, you know?" I suggested.

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. Alright, let's go set it up." He left the tent and I trailed after him.

"Jackson you know I have to do water duty double shifts today, Eric's foot is hurting him and Mel is too exhausted from doing all of his shifts so I have to do them." I looked at him.

"Oh, yeah that's right. Okay, I'll do it myself and when I finally catch the fish, I'll come help you." He said happily.

"It's a deal." I said, turning around.

"And don't forget about our other deal, Liz." He reminded. I nodded my head and headed to the fire pit.

Hours later and many trips back and forth between the water spring and the camp, I was exhausted. So I sat down beside Mel and we started to talk about anything.

"Liz, who did you hang out with back at school?" She asked curiously. Well this going to be embarrassing.

"Uh...nobody...I didn't really have any friends..." I said shyly, my cheeks starting to heat up.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Our conversation was cut short by a loud chanting of 'We've got bananas, hey! We've got papayas, hey!' coming from the opening of the jungle. The source of the chanting was Daley and Lex and sullen looking Nathan.

"What's going on?" I stood up and walked towards them, as Mel did the same.

"We found every possible fruit a jungle could offer!" Lex screamed and they placed down the piles of fruit.

"No way? Guys, that's amazing!" I scream. Mel congratulates them and asks Nathan what he found. Nathan held up six coconuts, a frown etched on his face.

"You finally got the coconuts, Nathan?" I said jokingly. I smiled at him and said, "Good for you, and now I'll get to see what that stuff actually tastes like." He laughed and thanked me for making him feel better.

"No problem, that's why I'm here."

I turned around when I heard Eric gasp in amazement and then run toward the fruit. Wait a minute...RUN?!

"Eric!!" I screeched. He jumped ten feet in the air. "Why are you able to run?" I said slowly and menacingly. He turned to me and quirked a smile.

"It's a miracle?" He shrugged his shoulders.

"You're going to need a miracle after I'm done with you. I had to lug litres upon litres of water for who knows how many kilometers, three times my regular shifts and all because you were too lazy to do it?!" I said with a raised tone.

"Aren't we going to get sick of all this fruit?" Taylor interrupted

"Not a problem anymore." Said a voice I haven't heard for a few hours.

A pile of fish was dropped beside the fruit and everyone cheered. I spun around and jumped into his arms. He wrapped them around me and hugged me back. It feels so good...Wait a minute, I did not just think that! But all thoughts were wiped clean when he tightened his grip.

"I knew you could do it." I said as I pulled away, smiling. He grinned back but our smiles faltered when Taylor asked, "Yeah, who's going to clean them?" I scrunched my nose at the thought. "Cause I'm not. I'll puke."

I turned to look at Mel and we both had a mischievous glint in our eyes. "Oh, it's all taken care of." She said and we both looked at Eric as he finally realized what she had meant.

"Yeah, Eric was telling me how much he loves cleaning fish guts!" I said smiling. "Right Eric?" I said, glaring at him.

"I can do this, I can do this..." He repeated that mantra even when Jackson stuck the ugly fish head in his face. I giggled at Eric's face.

* * *

Many bananas, and other tasty fruits and let's not forget Jackson's fish, later we were all stuffed.

"That was just sick..." Eric said and then burped so loud. What I didn't expect was Taylor to burp even louder right after. We all giggled except I laughed the hardest but then it hurt my stomach so much I recoiled into a ball beside Jackson.

"What about those coconuts, Chief?" Eric asked.

"I'm working on it." He replied, stabbing a knife into the coconut. Daley stood up and went to talk to Nathan about something. When Jackson finally cracked it open, he triumphantly yelled, "Yes!"

Picking up the other shell, he shook it hearing the liquid inside slosh around.

"You got to crack it open." Lex said and we stared at him. "I'll work on it." and he stood up to do just that.

"Wait..." Jackson whispered to Lex. "Uh...thank you."

"I haven't done anything yet."

"No, you know, like the clues." He said. "A friend?" I knew it wasn't Lex because he the most confused look on his face.

"Huh?" He asked.

"The stuff in the tent." Taylor walked by and Lex turned and said, "Oh, Taylor I almost forgot, you left this earring in our tent." Handing her an earring that looked exactly like the ones Jackson got. I sat up straight as a board. "Daley said you had a couple of those, hope you didn't lose the other ones."

She looked at Jackson. "No, I know exactly where they are. Thanks." Lex turned back to us.

"So, what were you talking about?"

"No, nothing, uh, never mind." He waved him off. I smiled at Lex as he walked away. When Jackson looked up at Taylor, she gave him a wink and left for the tents.

He turned to me and whispered, "Taylor?" I shook my head and laughed.

"So what do you want to do now?" I asked.

"Well let's talk about that deal we made." He said turning his full body in my direction so he was facing me.

"I don't even remember what the deal was about?" I said trying to steer him away from that subject.

"Well I do." He responds with an evil glint in his eyes. "You were supposed to tell me why you change the subject when someone pays you a well deserved compliment." He leaned forward and I had to resist the urge to move closer.

"Oh, right, right. Now I remember, it's all coming back to me now." I tapped my head for emphasis. I stared up at him and asked, "You really wanna know?" He nodded and I sighed. "Alrighty then." Looking down, to avoid eye contact I started to speak. "I get uncomfortable when people say nice things about me because...it doesn't really happen a lot. And when by some chance someone does compliment me, I change the subject or talk about them because it's the only thing I can think of to get out of that situation." I took a deep breath and raised my head slowly to find Jackson staring at me with a small smile on his face. "You happy now? You got your answer."

"That's not possible." He replied, shaking his head.

"What do you mean, I gave you your answer–" I said confused.

"No not about that, about how you weren't praised for all the generous and nice things you do. I mean if you're half of what you are like here, back home, you should be used to compliments not shying away from them."

I blushed again and looked down. This time Jackson put his fingers under my chin and lifted my head up, to look into his grey-blue eyes.

"You don't have to be uncomfortable or embarrassed around me, okay?"

"Jackson, you're a guy! I'm like genetically programmed to be uncomfortable around you!" I said.

He laughed and so did I. "Well try not to be?" He asked, hopeful.

"Alright, I'll try."

"That's my girl!" He said and got me in a head lock.

"Yeah, remember I'm a girl, so less head locks, more talking." He let go and apologized.

"Ha, you fell for it!" I tackled him to the ground and quickly got up and ran. Turning my head, I saw him right behind me.

"Jacks, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please don't hurt...ME!" I screamed as he lifted me up by my legs and threw over his shoulder.

"You, missy, are going into the ocean!" He screamed. I started to protest by beating at his back but he would not relent. So as the sun went down, we ceased in our games and that was how day three on the god forsaken island ended.

* * *

**Video Diary:**

"**So...today was an interesting day. I ate figs for the first time in my life...and hopefully the last. Though, I would rather eat figs than nothing at all. We had fish too, Jackson's task of the day. **

**Jackson. **

**I guess you could say we're close friends because I've said** **things to him that Lex doesn't even know. He seems trustworthy, but really, you can't trust no one. I mean I trusted the doctors who said my mom would be okay, I trusted my father when he said that he would never remarry, and look how those ended? Maybe I should keep my distance, from Jackson and everyone else. Oh God! I don't know what to do! I mean it's like there's this magnetic pull that drags me towards Jackson and I can't seem to control myself when I'm around him...okay that sounded very bad. What I meant is that I like him a lot, a lot more than a friend should and I have no idea what to do about it."**

**End of Video Diary

* * *

**

A/N: Don't forget to click the cute purple button. And sorry again for the gigantic lapse in time.


	7. Guilt Ridden Times

**A/N: Okay, in this story I don't want any love triangles and stuff like that so Mel doesn't like Jackson in **_**that**_** way**. **Elizabeth will replace Mel in some of the scenes from this eppie, like the video diary of Mel saying she likes Jackson will be Liz saying it instead, except it's not written down it's implied. I'm trying not to make Liz a "copy" of Mel but for storyline purposes I have to for now.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING RELATED TO FLIGHT 29 DOWN. ALL THAT IS MINE IS THE CHARACTER ELIZABETH.**

Day 5

I was sitting on the rocks by the tide, watching Jackson fish. A grin came to my face as I remembered the struggles he had had with it. The waves were crashing lightly together and the sun was up and ready, as my mind shifted to yesterday.

Not much had happened on day four of our estrangement from the real world...well except that Taylor was the target to Daley's rage. Daley was so irritated from her sunburn that she made Taylor, one of the laziest people I know, dig a latrine!

"Ouch!" I hear from behind me. I shot up onto my feet and ran towards the young boy who was staring down into the tide pool.

"Lex? Are you okay?" I ask worriedly. My eyes scan his form, checking for any injuries. Thankfully, I didn't find any.

"Lex?" He shot me a grin and pointed down. My confused gaze lingered on Lex for a little then I shifted it down to where he was pointing.

I leaned my head to the side and asked, "Are those..._oysters_?" Lex gave me a quick nod before screaming for Jackson to come over. Lex, being the impatient one that he is, ran to Jackson himself. I giggled as they collided into each other and almost fell over.

"What is it, are you two alright?" His worried orbs flickered in my direction but his attention was attained by the ten-year-old boy's excitement.

"You got to see what I found...this could save us!!" He cried happily. Lex grabbed Jackson and brought him over to where I was kneeling.

I pulled Jackson down beside me as Lex started to reach inside the pool to grab an oyster.

"What is going on?" He asks me. I just shrugged my shoulders and continued to watch Lex.

Lex handed one of the oysters over to Jackson and Jackson gave it a quizzical look.

"Can you believe this? I just tripped over it, it was pure luck!" He says with a smile. Jackson turned it over in his hand and replied with, "Yeah, it's a really nice rock."

I punched him in the shoulder. "It's not a rock, you dolt, it's an oyster!" I took it from his hand and cracked it against the rock beside me. Prying it open I took a peek inside. "Or maybe it's a clam, I'm not sure."

"But it's food." Lex adds. I shot him a smile and he returned it but his gaze fled back to Jackson, waiting for his response.

"You can't really split this in eight ways, Lex" Jackson says gazing at the goo-like delicacy.

"Good thing there is plenty more where that came from." I say pointing back into the tide pool, where little specks gleamed in the sun.

* * *

Gathered around the fire pit, Daley decided that one person should try the oysters to see if they're safe. They held out a row of sticks but to get it over with quickly, I volunteered and now I was holding food that, in Taylor's words, looked like boogers. And she was not wrong!

"You volunteered, Liz, so eat it!" Eric says tauntingly. I throw him a glare and then give one to the disgusting food in front of me.

"Don't worry I will...I'm just...sizing up my opponent." I say to lighten the mood. Everyone starts to scream and yell that I had to eat it, when out of nowhere, Jackson takes the oyster out of my hands and swallows it whole. The group's attention veered to him while I snuck away into the woods.

* * *

"Hey Liz..." A cocky voice says behind me.

"What do you want, Eric?" I say softly.

"Well, I would like to dump my water fetching job onto somebody else, got any candidates?" He replied, his tone getting more arrogant and a smirk growing on his cunning face as he came into my line of vision.

"Eric, I do not have the time nor the energy to explain to you, yet again, why everyone here has their own jobs and responsibilities." I rolled my eyes and tried to get back to my previous tranquil state, thinking he would go away. No such luck.

"Well, I was hoping you could tell Jackson to give me a job with a little less…work. What do you say?"

"I say get off your scrawny ass and tell him yourself." Yet again, I roll my eyes instead of pummeling him, which is what I really want to do. "What makes you think he'll listen to me, anyway?" He smirked and it gave me an uneasy feeling in my stomach. Kind of like the one I had when the plane went into turbulence prior to the crash.

"Well, I think he would considering that you like him! And I don't mean in the traditional 'lets be friends forever' kind of like. I meant the boyfriend-girlfriend type of liking, the type where you want to date him and kiss him and have se-Oomph!"

Okay, so I do not have as much self-control as I thought I did. I just tackled Eric to the moss covered ground and pinned him beneath me, ready to hit him if need be.

"Shut your lying trap, Eric!" I growl at him. "I do not like Jackson in _that_ way, he's just a friend."

"Oh so you don't have this 'magnetic pull' towards him or you 'can't control yourself when you're around him'?" My fingers wove around his neck and squeezed as his breathing hitched.

"How much of my video did you see?" I hissed at him. Panic spun through my body, I didn't even tell Lex of my parental issues. I sure as hell did not want _Eric_ to know about them.

"Only the part about you liking Jackson and I didn't watch your video, I overheard you _making_ it," he was saying while gasping for air. "I swear on my life that's all!"

Seeing the truth in his terrified eyes, I got off of him. "Do not breath a word of _any_ of this to _anyone_. Got it?" He nodded as his breath steadied and I started to walk away when his voice pulled me back to him.

"So, if I keep this whole scene a secret between the two of us. What's in it for me?" I glared at his smirking face and wondered how many punches it would take to wipe it off.

"The sheer happiness of not getting your face punched in." I say coldly.

"Nope. I don't think that is enough, I think you have to do something for me. Like, I don't know, taking over my water duties? How does that sound?"

"If you expect me to-"

"Fine! Than I'll go tell Jackson all about your secret crush on him, I'm sure he'll be just _thrilled_ about it."

That stupid son of a bitch, he was blackmailing me and I don't have anything to use against it! I am so screwed!

"Fine." I clipped out. "I'll do your job but you have to promise me that you will not tell anyone about what you overheard or else next time, I won't let you go until you take your last breath."

I could see him gulp and I could also see that his smirk had not dropped one inch. "Do we have a deal or not?" I say. He took hold of my hand and we shook on it.

"Deal."

* * *

I had completed all of my jobs for the day so all I had to do was continue Eric's water duties. As I traipsed back and forth from the spring to the fire pit, I had been informed that Jackson was alright and the oysters had not killed him. So, we all gathered around the pile of oysters and ate as much as we could for lunch.

I really was not in the mood to talk to anyone, even Lex and Jackson, so after lunch I just worked. I tried to get Eric to help me but you could probably guess how well that went.

But later on in the day, after I got back from the spring, I noticed Jackson trying to pick up the empty oyster shells.

"Need some help?" I say as I knelt down beside him.

"Uh…yeah, thanks. Just grab them and follow me." We turned around when we heard a groaning noise and that's when Eric came into view.

"Hey Eric, come and help us!" Jackson was saying while picking up more shells.

"No can do, Chief, I'm not feeling so hot." I didn't believe that for one second…and neither did Jackson because he just scoffed at him and told him to help anyway.

I realized that Eric was probably just going to hint of my crush on Jackson the whole time just to piss me off, so I told them both that Eric should lie down if he wasn't feeling well.

Grabbing him by the elbow I pushed him in the direction of the shady trees.

"Just go lie down and I'll cover for you."

"No, seriously, I'm not feeling very good…"

"Yeah, right." I sneer and I push him forward. I turned back to see Lex helping Jackson, so I head over to the fire and start filtering the water that I had just finished lugging over.

I hadn't seen Eric all day, which was a relief. It was bad enough I had to do his job for him but the way he kept rubbing it in my face just made it worse.

My only other alternative was to tell Jackson of my feelings but I knew that would just scare him off. I mean, he's my friend and I don't want to ruin that by saying I was falling for him. Ugh, and I thought life was hard before!

* * *

As the group settled in for dinner, people started to ask where Eric was. I could've cared less but when Nathan said he would go and get him, I jumped up and insisted that I go instead. Who knows what Eric would tell him!

He was sleeping in the plane so I went up to him and told him to get up.

"Hey, Eric, get up it's your favourite part of the day, eating time." I nudged him but he didn't move, he just curled up in the fetal position and clutched his stomach.

"Eric?"

I jumped onto the ledge and took a look at his face to see it contorted in pain and as white as a ghost.

"Eric!"

I started to yell for the others to come over as I took hold of Eric's cheek and began to calmly speak words of comfort.

The group came over and Nathan and Jackson took hold of him and put him over in the tent. I climbed in after them, so that I could see if Eric would be alright.

"He doesn't have a fever but he's been clutching his stomach the whole time." I tell the others with a shaky voice.

Eric moaned again. "It's hard to breathe…" He whispers and we all look down to see his face twist in pain once again.

"Water, get him some water, now!" I scream and Daley repeated my order to Nathan, who left the tent.

Mel came bursting in and dropped down beside me. I didn't move because my hand was securely placed in Eric's and was gripped extra hard when another cramp sent a spasm through his body.

She asked Eric how he felt with an urgent tone. Though how anyone could have a light tone in this situation was beyond me.

"My throat is tight." He replied hoarsely.

"Look at his skin!" Mel says, lifting his shirt. On Eric's normally tanned stomach was a bunch of red and purple bumps that were the size of golf balls.

"Hives!!" Nathan breathed out.

"He's not sick, he's allergic!" Mel told us.

"Eric are you allergic to shellfish?" I ask him softly. He moaned again and his grip tightened on my hand.

"I don't know, I've never had any." Was his mumbled reply.

"That's got to be it!" Nathan whispered and he spun out of the tent to get the first aid kit. While he went to get the kit, I bent down beside Eric's head and whispered routine sayings in a crisis.

They were along the lines of: 'Don't worry, everything will be fine.' Or 'You're going to be okay.' Though right at this second, none of that really seemed believable or helpful.

I pushed his sweat-soaked bangs off of his forehead and placed a wet bandana on his forehead to cool him off as we waited. I didn't really notice anyone but Eric right now because my sole priority was to get him healthy. I did, however, hear their voices and Melissa said he was going to be fine. I just hope she is right. Nathan came barreling back into the tent and dropped the first aid kit beside Eric's writhing body.

We figured out that Eric was in fact, allergic and a spring-loaded needle was the cure. Luckily, the kit had one of those and Mel took it out of the bag.

I took a look back at Eric and noticed his eyes were shut.

"Guys! He's passed out! What do we do??" I tell them. I could hear the hysteria creeping into my voice as I passed a shaky hand down the side of Eric's face. "He's breathing but somebody needs to do something quick!"

Mel took the initiative and pulled her arm back and plunged the needle into Eric's leg, all in one motion.

"Well, now what?" I hear Jackson ask.

"Now, we wait." Melissa replied.

* * *

Hours droned on and on and Jackson, Melissa, and Daley came every thirty minutes to see if he would wake up. I sat next to Eric and held his hand, like I did before and waited to see if he was going to be okay. The other three came into the tent just as I heard him groan.

"Guys! He's waking up! He's okay!" My voice was quiet but filled with relief. He shifted his body a little and groaned again. As his eyes fluttered open, I got scraed and I released his hand and stood up as the others crowded around him. I left the tent as Lex and Taylor jumped in but before I was out of earshot I heard him say, "Was that a dream…or did you just stab me in the freaking leg?"

I started to pick up my pace and soon I found myself running all the way to the rocks by the tide. The same one's that I was sitting on just a few hours ago watching Jackson fish as the sun rose to its place in the sky.

Then, and only then, did I let the tears fall and the retching sobs rip through my body. There beside the tide pool, after a traumatic and terrible incident did the impending need to go home creep up on me.

* * *

It was really late at night and I couldn't sleep, so I decided to get some work done. I grabbed a hold of the heavy water jugs and trudged toward the fire pit. A few hours later, I hear Jackson get out of his tent and come over to me.

"Hey." I say quietly as i look up at him. He gives me his boyish grin and sits down next to me.

"You're up early." He comments then helps me with my work as I continued to work diligently beside him.

"Yeah, I…uh…couldn't sleep."

"That's understandable."

"What, because we all went through a traumatic experience?" I say sarcastically.

"Yes but there was more to it for you. There was something else bothering you today as you held onto Eric's hand. You want to talk about it?"

I chanced a look up at him and I found him staring down at me, concern etched into his shining orbs.

I took a deep breath and looked down again.

"Before the…incident, Eric was being, well _Eric_, and I got really mad at him and I attacked him and I said—" My breathing got a little shallow as my words came back to me.

"You said what?" Jackson asked gently.

"I said-- I said that if he tried to bug me again, I'd make sure his next breath would be his last."

My eyes filled with tears for second time in twenty-four hours as I raised my gaze to meet his. "And the next thing I know he's having trouble breathing and he was on the verge of dying. How am I supposed feel after that?"

"Elizabeth, this is not your fault. He was allergic to the oysters, none of this could have been caused by you or anyone else!" He said trying to comfort me. I think he saw on my face that nothing he was saying was going to make me feel any better so he just pulled me close to him and wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug. The filtering utensils forgotten as I sobbed into his shoulder and my fingers gripped onto the thin white t-shirt that covered his torso.

* * *

An hour after I finished my incredibly embarrassing sob-fest, I noticed Jackson yawn, so I sent him off to bed. Before he entered the tent, I called out to him. He turned back and I smiled.

"Thank you."

He gave me a soft smile and headed back into the tent.

Apparently no one could sleep that night because a little while after Jackson went to bed, Eric came outside and slowly trekked toward me.

I swallowed the awful lump in my throat that told me I was on the verge of crying and turned toward him. He was staring at me and I laughed.

"What? Do I have something on my face?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm just thinking about how I should thank you."

Well, that was just a tiny bit shocking. "For what? It was Mel who saved your life, not me."

"Yeah and I'm grateful but according to everyone, including Melissa, you were the one who found me and sat by me and held my hand the whole time."

"Eric, you don't have to thank me or whatever it is you are going to do—"

"Yeah, I do." He cut me off. "You could've stayed outside the tent or have not cared at all about what happened to me but you didn't…even after I was blackmailing you…so thank you."

I ducked my head for a second but then looked back up at him. "Well, you would've done the same…I hope." I grinned and he managed a weak, lopsided smile.

Eric picked up the water filterers and started to do his everyday job. I placed my hand on his wrist and he looked up at me. I took the utensils out of his hands and pulled him up and onto his feet.

"Your welcome…now go get some rest so that when you do get your job back, you can do it right." I smiled at him and he turned and disappeared into the tent.

As I walked down by the shore, I took a deep breath and sighed. Deep, deep, deep inside of Eric, there was a good guy and with that revelation, I was able to walk back to the tent and finally shut my eyes and end day five on the island.

* * *

**Video Diary:**

**Okay so, Eric isn't **_**all **_**bad. I mean at least I know he's human and not some pod person who has come to annoy the human race. **

**(laughs)**

**I am glad that he's okay, though. **

**You know, it seems like every time I talk on this stupid thing, I end up talking about Jackson**. **And I will not disappoint you this time either. **

**I...uh...sort of busted out crying, while he was telling me that what happened to Eric wasn't my fault. I know he was right but I still felt guilty – and that was when he pulled me into his arms and held me while I cried. Totally embarrassing for me but incredibly sweet on his part. **

**Anyway, I better go and help the others, till next time!**

**End of Video Diary.**


	8. Truth Be Told

**Day Six- Morning**

Running after Taylor on the beach was not how I wanted my morning to start but I had _accidently _burned her shirt while hanging it over the fire to dry.

I told her multiple times that I was sorry but I guess that doesn't matter in her world. So, now she is running to Jackson to have me punished.

"Look, Jackson, I put her shirt on by mistake and got it dirty, so before Taylor could freak out, I washed it. Except, when I tried to dry it over the fire...I kinda burned it." I bit my lip and looked at him.

Jackson looked over at Taylor. "So, what do you want me to do?"

"Punish her!"

I looked over at the angry blonde. "What?! Taylor it was an accident!"

But she wouldn't listen she continued with her rant. "She should take over all of my chores from now on _and_ give me the choice of any three of her tops."

I just stared at her. "You can't be serious?" She just glared at me and I sighed. "Fine. I'll give you a top but I am not doing your chores, Taylor."

"Lighten up, Taylor, it was an accident." Jackson said. He looked over at me and told me to be a little more careful.

"Yeah, of course. I wouldn't want to go through this again anyway." He grinned at me and then turned to Taylor.

"Problem solved."

The look on her face was murderous. "This isn't over."

Kicking her feet. She walked back over to the camp.

I was going to follow but Jackson held my arm, preventing me from moving. I looked up at him and he was staring at me.

He released his hold on my arm but his fingers lingered there. It sent a slight shiver down my spine.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his voice etched with concern. He must be talking about my sob-fest early this morning.

I tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, and looked down. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking."

I have no idea what is going on. He's looking at me with those wonderful eyes and he's touching my arm and he smells so good that my brain can't even function anymore.

Oh man. What do I do?

"You sure?"

What were we talking about? Nodding my head seemed like a good enough answer because he stepped back and gave me a smile.

"I should, uh, get back to work." I stuttered. I gave Jackson a jerky wave and turned toward the fire pit.

* * *

I was leaning against the plane watching Lex try and hook up the radio to the plane so that we could respond to any rescue planes.

I hope he fixes it.

I saw Taylor coming towards us and I told Lex I'd see him later and went to find Jackson.

He was picking up rocks to make a giant 'HELP' sign in the sand.

"Hey, dude, need some help?" I said, walking over to him. He smiled and nodded his head.

I was rearranging the rocks he plopped beside me when I heard it.

My voice. Coming out through the speakers.

My voice telling everyone I liked Jackson.

"_Oh God! I don't know what to do! I mean it's like there's this magnetic pull that drags me towards Jackson and I can't seem to control myself when I'm around him...okay that sounded very bad. What I meant is that I like him a lot, a lot more than a friend should and I have no idea what to do about it."_

My mouth dropped open, my eyes bugged out, and my face turned red. And all I could do was stare at Jackson.

Then my brain kicked in and I stood up and ran toward the plane.

I looked at Lex, who was telling _Eric_ to turn the tape off.

"Stop it!" I screamed. Lex said that Eric and Taylor had the camera.

I looked through the window of the plane and saw a smirking Taylor looking back at me.

I turned and ran. Passed Jackson, passed the fire pit, passed Nathan and Daley who congratulated me on telling the truth about my feelings that publicly.

I finally stopped when I reached the edge of this cliff. Tears started to fall and I did everything I could to hold them back.

The view was beautiful.

Plush, green trees and bushes lined the tops of the adjacent cliff and the open sky above. It felt peaceful.

Like nothing and no one could hurt me out here.

Forgetting about the edge I stepped forward and slid right off the cliff, screaming my lungs out on the way.

* * *

I must've hit my head when I fell because I woke up slightly dazed. Looking up I saw that I was a few feet away from the edge of the cliff.

I had landed on a protruding platform. I looked over the ledge and straight down was nothing but grass, trees, and more rocks.

"Oh crap!

* * *

I heard footsteps crunching over branches above me.

"Hello? Is somebody there?" I yelled.

"Elizabeth?" It was _Taylor_!

"Taylor!" I screamed with relief and slight panic. I heard her say something about me being a ghost and I shook my head.

"No, I'm done here!" I heard her move and I warned her.

"Be careful the edge is – "

And then I heard her yelp and come crashing down beside me.

I grabbed a hold of her arms t pull her up onto the ledge.

"I've got you. Don't worry."

She looked at me with surprise in her blue eyes. "You – you're not a ghost."

I laughed and shook my head. "Nope." looking down, I moved us both closer against the wall.

"And I don't wanna be one anytime soon."

Taylor looked over the ledge and screamed, pushing herself back against the wall.

"What if this ledge breaks?" she asked panicked.

"It's not going to break." I tell her.

"Well, what if nobody finds us?" I lo9oked over at her. "I don't want to die here...I don't wan to die _anywhere._"

I smiled at her. "They'll find us, sooner or later." I put an arm around her to comfort her and leaned against the wall.

"I trust Jackson." I said. "And Nathan and Daley and Lex."

Taylor nodded her head against my shoulder. After realizing that I hadn't said her name or Eric's, she straightened and stared at me.

"Hello? I'm the one that found you!" She emphasized that by pointing to herself.

I nodded my head. "Yeah, but I'm not a big fan of yours right now."

"Then why did you comfort me?"

I shrugged, looking away. "Because you were scared."

And she left it at that.

* * *

After I don't know how many minutes, I noticed that Taylor was wearing the shirt I had burned.

"Yeah, uh, when I tie it like this, it isn't _totally_ hideous."

I let out a small laugh. "I knew you would be mad when I told you what I did but I didn't know you could be so evil." I looked down.

She looked over at me. "I don't like people messing with my stuff."

"So you fight back by messing with their lives?" I replied incredulously. "What are you going to do if something really bad happens to you?"

It took awhile for her to respond and when she did, it was only an " I don't know."

I thought I heard voices above us and I looked up. My suspicions were right because Jackson yelled out my name. Then I heard Lex and Melissa with him.

Taylor screamed for them to help us. Some dirt came flying down and I knew they were on the edge.

"Be careful! The edge isn't safe!" I yelled.

"Are you alright? Are you safe?" Jackson asked.

I told him that we were okay and I also told him to be careful again. The last thing we need is for Jackson or Lex or Mel to fall down too.

He said that they were going to get us up and Taylor and I grinned at each other and went to hug when I stopped and my smile faltered.

Lex and Melissa said that Jackson went to get some rope so that they could pull us up.

"So, how are you guys doing?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

They laughed and told me that once we get home, I needed to get my head examined because only I could make jokes while on the edge of a cliff.

Jackson returned with the rope because he yelled for one of us to tie the rope around our body so that they can pull us up.

I saw the rope come down and I told Taylor to go first.

"No! No way! I can't do that." She looked so scared.

"Yes, you can!" I put the rope around her while she rambled about all the reasons she couldn't do it.

"Taylor!"

"Okay, we'll pull, you'll climb!" I heard Jackson scream.

"You can do this Taylor. Now climb!"

She did. She moaned half the ay up but she did it. I watched as she climbed over the ledge and onto the grass and saw the rope come flying back down toward me.

"Hey, you alright down there?" I hear Jackson's voice.

"I am now."

I pulled myself up easily, just like back home when I used to rock climb.

Grabbing onto the ledge, I heaved my body over it and onto the grass. I sprawled out on the ground and everyone surrounded me.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, just – let me lay here for a minute or two." I let out a little laugh.

Jackson looked up at the others. "Why don't you three go back to camp and I'll stay here with her."

I saw them all leave and I closed my eyes. He probably wants to talk about it. To tell me how he doesn't see me in _that_ way, how –

I had opened my eyes to see Jackson's face close to mine.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

He looked at me. "I – uh , I'm thinking about what it would be like to kiss you."

I looked at him, stunned. "Wow."

"What?"

"I, _so_, did not see that coming."

He chuckled and picked me up. My body swayed a little and I grabbed onto his arm for support.

"How about we save that experiment for a time where I won't faint?" Then I thought about it. "Actually, I might faint wither way so..."

Holding me in his arms, against his warm body, I felt his laugh against my chest. "Let's get you back to camp."

**End of Day Six**

* * *

**Video Diary:**

**Hello again.**

**Today was...eventful. **

**Jackson knows I like him, I almost died, and I found out that Jackson likes me!**

**I'm going to have to keep my diary tape real close from now on, though. **

**No need to tell you why.** **The one thing I will tell you though is...I'm getting anxious.**

**It's been six days on the island, no rescue boats or planes have been by and no one has answered our radio calls.**

**I hope help comes soon.**


End file.
